Opinion: What happened to my city?

George Kouri is a semi-retired businessman. He lives in Town of Mount Royal.
/ The Gazette

George Kouri misses Ruby Foo’s, one of the places where he wooed his future wife.Library and Archives Canada (collectionscanada.gc.ca)

George Kouri notes that, while many things in Montreal have disappeared, the places that were under construction when he left — like the Turcot Interchange — are, interestingly, still under construction.Peter McCabe
/ Gazette file photo

MONTREAL — Marlene and I were both born and raised in Montreal, but we moved to Toronto to pursue business opportunities in 1975. It was a successful experience, but after 37 years it was time to come home. It was time to reconnect with our families and friends and our grown-up nieces and nephews. Time to reacquaint ourselves with “steamies” and smoked-meat sandwiches and all the other delicacies that Montreal was famous for. It was time to relive and enjoy the bilingual culture of the great city of Montreal.

Wow — what a glorious time it promised to be, going back home. We shed a few tears as we got into the car and headed east on the 401, full of anticipation and excitement.

Oh my goodness — what happened to Montreal? Are we in the right city? Are you sure this is Montreal?

On the first day here, I hit one of the infamous potholes and had a blowout. Bienvenue à Montréal. Wrote to the city about it. The response was disappointing, even disgusting. No empathy there. Not even a helpful or caring tone.

Sorry to be so blunt, but why haven’t the roads been paved in 37 years? Why are they redoing the same construction projects — Turcot, l’Acadie, Décarie etc.? Oh — it’s all about the “construction scandal.” Thanks for telling me.

Then we had to get Quebec driver’s licences and health cards and all that stuff. Ouch — a medical exam for a driver’s licence, even though my Ontario one was valid and current? It sure sounded like, felt like, smelled like a money grab. Oh well; bien­venue à Montréal.

What happened to all the friendly, warm, kind and gentle people? Where did the joy and the smiles and the joie de vivre go to?

Montreal used to be the greatest city in the world, in my opinion. It had character, warmth, a caring spirit, friendly people; it was a helpful place, a place where you got a hug at Jarry Park when Rusty Staub hit a home run — and that hug was from a total stranger.

What happened to Montreal?

What happened to Blue Bonnets, the once-vibrant entertainment centre that was visited by celebrities and royalty for so many decades? I couldn’t believe my eyes — it’s now a barren wasteland. But I parked the car and walked toward the track, imagining that I could hear hoofs pounding the earth and the crowd cheering for Johnny Lobell, my winner. Part of Montreal’s character lost.

And what in heaven’s name happened to Laurier BBQ — absolutely the best place for chicken and that famous chocolate pudding pie?

What happened to Ruby Foo’s and Miss Montreal, centres of my courtship and expression of love for Marlene, the woman who was to become my wife?

Back in 1975 we would have asked, “What do you mean by ‘Le Plateau’?” St. Denis and St. Laurent were ordinary residential streets with little reason to go strolling on them.

I even miss Mr. Cotroni, God rest his soul. He took care of “business,” but he did it with a deep respect for regular people.

I really miss shopping at Dupuis Frères and Eaton’s — both symbols of true customer care. They set the standard for customer satisfaction and were the symbols of French and English coexistence and friendly competition. Grandes dames each, now erased from the Montreal landscape.

I miss another trendsetter: Pharmacie Montréal, open all hours to serve the health needs of Montrealers — the first drugstore to use the “Open 24 Hours” strategy.

Old Montreal in 1975 was just that: old. Today it boasts beautiful boutique hotels and superb dining establishments. That’s progress, I guess, and something we’re looking forward to enjoying in the coming months.

We’re back home, and despite the tears at lost places and a changed horizon, there are enough landmarks that still put a smile on our faces. The Orange Julep is still there. Place Ville Marie was where I got my first job. And the Mount Royal lookout is very familiar; it was where we fogged up the windows of our car on a more-than-regular basis. (We’ve already had a return session.)

So despite some slings and arrows, we’re glad to be back. We will enjoy it, especially our lunches at Première Moisson and our smoked-meat sandwiches from Lou at Jarry Smoked Meat.

And I’ll put my luxury cars in storage and get an old jalopy to drive through and around the potholes and broken-up streets. And yes, I’ll enjoy reading The Gazette every morning with my breakfast, like I did 37 years ago. Indeed, The Gazette may well be the only true connection to the “Glorious Montreal” we came back for. I still love Mr. Red Fisher.

After all is said and done, it is nice to be back home.

George Kouri is a semi-retired businessman. He lives in Town of Mount Royal.

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